Dr. Gordon Capp, Assistant Professor of Social Work, was awarded the2019 Outstanding Dissertation in the Field of School Climateaward by the School Community, Climate and Culture (SC3) which is a Special Interest Group (SIG) within the American Education Research Association (AERA). The purpose of the SIG is to disseminate research on school community, climate, and culture and to provide a venue for research collaboration of its members.
Dr. Capp used a statewide database of 54,000 school staff (teachers, principals, PPS workers, secretaries, bus drivers, playground monitors etc.) in public schools in California and created a staff level school climate construct that mirrored student climate theoretical models. His study also included issues of organization, support, staff contentedness, and student/staff relationships that were specific to school staff. He created a theoretical model, and then tested it empirically. He then went into school districts and created case studies based on his statewide and theoretical models.